Reminiscence
by DreamInVintage
Summary: Leah Clearwater runs away. Embry Call finds her. Embry sees a different side of Leah for the first time.


"What're you doing here?"

Embry shrugs. "What, this is your territory?"

"Yeah. It is."

Embry ignores her, and sits down on the grass, a respectable ten feet away. He purposely stretches, yawns.

"Go away," Leah says.

Embry just pops his knuckles. And then his neck. And his toes. And all his joints. _SnapPopCrackle. _He sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies.

"I told you to leave."

"C'mon, Leah. Just this once? I'm exhausted. Let me rest here for a while, I won't bother you. I won't talk. I swear I won't annoy you."

"You already are. Now shut up," she grumbles.

Embry shuts up.

Leah Clearwater watches an ant crawl up her arm. The air is heavy with awkwardness.

"You know," Embry starts. "This is a nice spot. I would've never found it on my own."

Leah doesn't answer.

"Why do you hate me?" Embry asks lightly, as if he were bringing up the weather.

"Because you talk too much," Leah grumbles. "And you give me headaches."

"I'm serious."

"I don't hate you," Leah says.

"Sure seems like it."

"Just because I don't come up to you and start swooning over you like all the other girls in La Push doesn't mean I hate you. Just because I don't talk to you voluntarily doesn't mean I hate you. Just because I want to be left alone doesn't mean I hate you. Jesus, Embry."

Embry is silent. "Life's freaking unfair," he decides after a few minutes.

The ant's on Leah's neck. She flicks it off. "Yeah, you just noticed that?"

"Renesmee's a bitch."

"So's Jacob."

"You know, I miss having Jake around. We used to go out, me, him, and Quil. We'd ride our bikes or go cliff diving, or, I don't know, watch _Die Hard_ or something. Now Quil's over at Claire's all the time, and Jake's waiting hand and foot on Nessie," Embry complains.

"Hmm," Leah says absentmindedly. She wonders where the ant went. She finds herself hoping another one will come. Apparently this lack of emotion pisses Embry off.

"Do you even care, Leah? Do you even care that they've been turned into mindless slaves?" Embry demands.

"Better them than us," Leah grins coldly.

"They're your _brothers_," Embry emphasizes.

Leah's getting annoyed. "Look, Embry. I didn't come out here to have a heart-to-heart with you. Okay? I don't want to talk about this, and I'm not going to talk about this. When I want to cry on your shoulder about how unfair life is, I'll call you."

Embry sits up straight. He hesitantly edges a foot closer to Leah. She rolls her eyes and ignores him.

"Leah…" His voice trails off. "Leah, I know."

She stiffens. Leah turns into a statue. "You don't know anything." The words are sharp, razor-edged, and Embry just manages to dodge them before they slice him to pieces.

"I came out here because I wanted to tell you… It's okay. And that he doesn't deserve you anyways. And I wanted to tell you I knew. And that I get why you're doing what you're doing. But I don't think it's the right choice. Leah, you can't avoid Jake forever. He's already worried out of his mind that his Beta's gone."

"Why doesn't he come after me, then?"

Embry sighs. "Look, Leah, you know he has Renesmee. He can't… It's hard for him to be away from her. You know that. And Seth's freaking out. And I guess even Quil misses having you around. I'm not going to force you to come back. I just want you to."

"No." Leah's voice breaks, and she swallows. "No. You can't make me go back. I'm trapped there. I'm not going to watch Sam and Emily or Jacob and Renesmee live happily ever after. I'm making my own life, okay, Embry? And you guys have got to let me go. I'm trying to start over. Can't you guys respect that? Or do I have to be prisoner in La Push? Everyone else is moving on with their lives. I can't move on if I have to see _them_ every day. You can't make me."

"Leah… I'm not going to make you go back."

Leah's eyebrows furrow.

"We'll all miss you, you know. All of us. Even Paul. And, of cours –"

"Stop trying to make me feel guilty, Embry. I made my choice, and Clearwaters don't back down."

Embry ducks his head. "Okay. I'm glad you're making things better for yourself."

Leah nods.

"And I just think you should know that I think Jacob and Sam are assholes."

_I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry, I'mnotgoingtocry, I'mnotgoingtocry, I'mnot – _Damn it! A tear slid off the bridge of Leah's nose and onto a blade of grass. Another one scaled down her face, stopping above her lips. She licked it. It was salty. Very salty. Leah wondered if the taste of tears was hereditary. Did her parent's tears also taste of sorrow?

"You know…" Leah takes a deep breath. "You know that old saying about how you always hurt the one you love?" Her voice is shaky and wobbly.

Embry nods. He's never heard Leah sound so vulnerable. Something tells him he never will again.

She swipes her eyes with the backs of her hands, erasing any trace of tears. One look at her face, and Embry can tell. The mask is back in place. Her walls are back up. When Leah speaks again, her voice is cold and steely. "Sometimes, it works both ways."

She rises from the ground, and strides away. Leah's jaw is set, her hands balled into fists.

And Embry's heart breaks for her.


End file.
